Last weekend we, with a group of friends, all went to a nearby mountain top (about 40 minutes away) where Elk are frequently spotted. We went right around sun-down, and were not disappointed! Our house is situated in a community called "Elk Valley" and apparently Elk used to be quite a nuisance here. They have since been hunted to the point of no longer calling this their home. It was wonderful to go and see a variety of Elk at this viewing area.
You can see the fall colors starting to show their splendor too.
There were several bull Elk. We even got to see a bull fight - horns clashing, dust flying and all. I couldn’t capture a non-blurry shot of the event (it was getting pretty dark) but the experience was awesome.
When I turned around to face the west, the sunset was stunning.
The colors were HOT but the air was refreshingly cool. A very nice contrast.
This is about the time of the bull fight. My camera (with the current lens and unskilled photographer) couldn’t capture anything below the skyline.
For good measure, and to make this post complete, here’s your Gredemeer pond fix:
This was taken just this morning (Wednesday). You can see a small inkling of the amazing color that’s going to grace us very soon. It’s been a bit rainy, which makes the colors more vivid, I think. Lovely fall weather. If it weren’t such a short season, I think fall would be my all time favorite. But fall is the pre-winter season, and cold is not my favorite thing, really.
Happy Skywatching! You can see more amazing skies from all over the world by visiting here.
So many of you leave happy comments about the sky over my pond. Last week TheFishingGuy asked about the sky over my barn. What an idea. Same sky. Different perspective. Got on my little Rhino with my little camera, and here’s what you get.
This shot even has a few left-over hay rolls that hadn’t made it into the barn yet. They’re all safe and warm now.
And here’s the same sky over the field. The field looks particularly green. That happens after the hay is mowed and then we had some rain - which has happy new grass growing.
There have been some spectacular sunrise shots on recent Skywatch posts. I dream of having a cool sunrise. I’m sure there is one out there - but from my vantage point, here is what the sunrise looks like:
Actually, the sun would be rising from the opposite direction, but since you know how close the pond mostly seems, you know I’d never see the sun, if I can barely see the pond. Here’s what I saw when I swung around to the east.
Beautiful, ain’t it? Actually, it is pretty. Just not with the stunning, dense colors that some people see when the day overtakes darkness.
Just so you don’t go through complete withdrawal, here’s a pond sky for you. I’ll settle for cool sunsets. I’m not usually up in time to see sunrise - colors or not.
You can see more very amazing skies, clouds, sunrises and sunsets from various angles and from all over the world right here. Better yet, take a shot of your own, and share it with us - everyone can play.
My biggest Farm Regret is not being able to travel. There’s always so much to do. Since I’ve been doing Skywatch Friday it has occured to me that even though I’m sitting in one place here on the farm, the earth is rotating and spinning, so I’m actually getting to see skies from all over - these skies have seen the parts of the earth that I’m yearning to visit. It has become a fun thing for me to imagine what my skies have seen as they’ve "passed over" other people and places. Just a bit of whimsy as I share the clouds from Gredemeer this week. Happy Skywatch Friday!
You might not be able to see it very clearly, but there is almost a "pillar of cloud" in this shot:
The reflection of these clouds in the pond makes it look like there are ripples in the water:
These clouds looked extra fluffy against the very blue sky:
Same day as the above shot - just an additional set of texture here. It’s amazing how quickly the cloud formations and textures change. The "naked" mountain top on the right has been strip-mined for coal. When they are done they have to introduce plants back to make it "natural" again. . . there’s a term for this, but it’s not coming to me at this insomniac moment. Maybe "reclaimed"?
You can see clouds (and other skies) from all over the world by visiting here. You can play along too, and share your skies, which may very well have flown over Gredemeer some time in the not too distant past!
We’ve been anticipating rain, I guess as a result of all the Ike activity, but it only happened once this past week (rain, that is). The sky has been changing colors, and I don’t know whether it’s because of that storm activity, or the pending change in seasons. The air is cooler, and I can feel fall coming. I LOVE the fall. Especially in these hills. These pictures are inspired by the color changes that I’m anticipating.
There’s a reason they call this area "Smoky Mountains." The mist just hangs.
My post (and your week) would be incomplete without a pond shot, so here you go:
You can see another really cool misty shot from this week here.
Play along with sky watch, or stop by and see all sorts of skies from all around the world here.
It’s so much fun watching clouds. The clouds I captured for this Skywatch don’t really have any very obvious wabbits or elephants or planes, but they’re still cool. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. These clouds are all over my farm (not all-over as in ended, but they were all taken over the farm ). There’s lots of sky around here. I feel badly for people who have less sky than me. Come over and enjoy my sky any time you want.
You can see more cloud pictures (and other sky images) from all over the world here
EDIT: 9/11/08 Skywatch post is actually here - sorry about that!
Here’s a non-evening shot of my wonderful kitchen window view. Can you even imagine how beautiful it is in the fall? And in the spring? I will share. I promise. Soon there will be pictures of neat round bales of hay out there, beyond the pond.
Can’t really see how stunning the sky is in this shot. You know the saying . . . "Red at night is the shepherd’s (or sailor’s) delight" - this was beautiful.
Since you always get to see the view from one direction, I decided to swing around and show you the opposite direction. This would be my library window view. That "road" is our drive-way . . . a long and dusty one, right on the edge of our property. Beyond the immediate neighbors is family land again. Prince Farming’s parents and brother own that next hill.
For more stunning sky shots from around the world, and from the other side of the pond(s) visit this site.
It amazes me how the sky from the same vantage point is so new and different every day. Not always stunning and photo worthy (IMO), but different all the same. Here are two shots, taken of the same sky, in the same direction as this shot was last week. I’m looking forward to seeing how the seasons bring different looks.
This shot was taken just a couple of days ago. It’s amazing when you look outside at just the right moment and recognize a photo-worthy sky. Very cool. And very new to me. Of course being somewhat limited in my photography skill and equipment, I’m sure that a hundred others would have taken a totally WOW photo of this same moment. If someone can explain (in very slow, simple language) how to improve this shot using a PHD camera (Push Here Dummy) I’d be most grateful. (btw - I knew to turn the flash off. thank you.) The shots I took of just the sky (without the pond) didn’t show the color as intensely as the reflection in the pond did. And truly, the colors were equally brilliant. I guess the creative thing to do would have been to crop the sky out of the shot and just do the pond reflection thing. Ah - yes. This is why I blog.
This same photo could be placed under a new heading brewing in my mind. Something along the lines of "Things I See at the Pond" or maybe "Gazing out my Kitchen Window". C O R N Y. Anyway - I really do enjoy my kitchen window. And I am thoroughly loving the things I see in, around, or near the pond. I do have a collection of photos started. But the collection will be appreciated more fully when people other than myself will be able to identify the tiny dots on the picture (ie I need to find the other lens). So you can anticipate more Pond Watch photos in the future.
There are many topics that flow through my head each day that I could easily address here. But it seems that Louise has this very cool tradition started where she takes pictures of the sky. Specifically on Friday. I was paging through my iPhoto library, and obviously my children are way more creative than I am. This is what I found in the latest download. I’m wondering if it qualifies for SkyWatch Friday. What do you think?
But then I was like no - probably not quite. Scrolling down further I found this one.
I’m wondering - what the heck were they really trying to capture? And where were they?
But really, I know. This isn’t fully what SkyWatch is all about. I have NOTHING that compares to the amazing pictures I’ve seen scrolling through some of the talented contributers around the world. I’m not a photographer. But seeing the pictures has made me pay closer attention to the sky around me. I’ll try to capture some of the very amazing sunsets to share. But in the mean time, one of my kids took this one. It is definitely the sky. I’m fairly certain this is more of what "ya’ll" are after.
This can go down as my first "Sky Watch Friday" It might also be my last - who knows? In the mean time I have to totally figure out WHAT I’m going to stamp to take with me to convention. AAaahhh. The stress. Or not. If I figure out something cool and simple to make, I’ll take it on the plane with me. Otherwise, I’ll use my camera. No stress. Although I’d like to make something fun to give to my cool room mates and a few others. I’ll share what I create as soon as I figure what it is. I feel an insomniac moment coming on (why is it that creativity thrives in sleep deprivation?)
). There’s lots of sky around here. I feel badly for people who have less sky than me. Come over and enjoy my sky any time you want.
